Poetry from Mary Bone

Firelight

The firelight warmed our toes

on a frosty night.

Fall had arrived.

There was a chill in the air.

We toasted our glasses

as a cold front hit.

Rain wrapped Tornado

A rain wrapped tornado

swirls around high in the sky.

Dark clouds

hover overhead.

Taking shelter,

we are spared from the storm.

Mary Bone has been writing poetry and short stories since childhood. Some of her poems have appeared in Synchronized Chaos, Poetry Catalog, Literary Revelations, Active Muse Journal, Blaze Vox Spring Journal of Voice and other places. Upcoming poetry has been accepted at Feed the Holy and Our Poetry Archive.

Essay from Mahmudova Sevara

Central Asian young woman in front of bricks in a black cap and gown and red and pink scarves

KOREAN CUISINE
By: Mahmudova Sevara Doniyor qizi
Student of the 4th year, Korean Philology
Kimyo International University

Annotation:
This article presents a selection of Korean dishes. It also explores certain aspects of Korean food culture.

Keywords: Bibimbap, Bungeoppang, Hotteok, Liliya Tyan


Introduction:

Today, we can observe that some Korean dishes and the ingredients needed to prepare them at home — including salads — are becoming increasingly available in stores. Korean eateries and restaurants are also growing in number. Why is the interest in Korean food increasing year by year? Let’s take a closer look at the reasons behind this trend.


Main Body:

One of the most popular dishes among Koreans and foreigners alike is bibimbap. With its colorful presentation, it is visually appealing at first glance. Professor and physician Kang Je Hon stated that this dish is very beneficial for health. “It is made with rice, various green vegetables, and small portions of fish or meat,” he explained. Due to its low calorie and carbohydrate content, as well as its attractive appearance, it is also widely consumed by foreigners.

Bungeoppang is one of the popular winter snacks. It is shaped like a fish and made from dough using a special mold. There are many varieties, such as pizza-flavored, cream-filled, chocolate-filled, and more. This dish has even appeared in Korean dramas (K-dramas), through which many drama fans have come to know it. Since it looks similar to ingeoppang, people often confuse the two. However, there is a difference: bungeoppang has a thick, crispy crust, while ingeoppang has a thinner, oilier dough. They are entirely different snacks.

Another popular winter snack is hotteok. It originated from bread consumed in Turkey and India and entered Korea via China along the Silk Road. It is entirely different from the American hot dog. Visually, it resembles khachapuri, which is often seen online. The dough is leavened and filled with brown sugar, honey, and sunflower seeds. There are also versions filled with vegetables, cheese, and kimchi. This snack has recently gained popularity among Americans and is well-liked by many.

Liliya Tyan, a Korean-Uzbek featured on “Voice of America,” is the owner of the “Cafe Lily” restaurant. In 2006, she won the Green Card lottery and moved to the U.S. with her family. She later opened her own restaurant, “Cafe Lily.” What sets her restaurant apart is its unique menu, which includes Korean, Russian, and Uzbek dishes. “Uzbeks have lived with Koreans for a long time, so especially the elderly remember Korean food fondly,” said Liliya Tyan. Her restaurant has even been featured in The New York Times.

Koreans have a proverb similar to the Uzbek saying: “Hot cuts hot, cold cuts cold.” That’s why Koreans eat hot foods in summer and cold foods in winter. For example, they eat ice cream in winter, just as Uzbeks drink hot tea in summer. Some even eat ice cream after spicy foods because of a belief that consuming hot food in summer increases body temperature, helping the body adapt to the heat.

Koreans also have a cultural habit of asking, “Have you eaten?” when greeting one another — similar to how Uzbeks say, “How are you?” This style of greeting dates back to the war period in Korea, when famine was widespread. People would greet each other by asking if they had eaten, and over time, it became a cultural norm.

There is also a cultural custom related to the apple fruit. Among peers, if someone makes a mistake and wants to apologize, they offer the other person an apple. This symbolizes asking for forgiveness.


Conclusion:

The history of Korean cuisine dates back centuries. Many of its dishes have developed over time. There is limited information available in Uzbek on this topic online. With further study, we can find many Korean foods that are beneficial to health — even useful in medicine. Their dining etiquette and food culture also share similarities with that of Uzbeks.


References:
Books:

  • Kim Seon Jung, Park Sung Tae, Kim Sung Su – Self-Study Guide: Korean for Uzbek Speakers, Level 2

Web Sources:

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy1WjUtc8eo
  2. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=http://blog.naver.com/kfdazzang/223353033219%3FfromRss%3Dtrue
  3. https://m.blog.naver.com/dkcaihong/221781366287
  4. https://www.amerikaovozi.com/a/cafe-lily/5890303.html

Poetry from Eva Petropoulou Lianou, translated by Sumaya Al Essmael

Light skinned middle aged woman with a green sparkly sweater and long dark hair.

ترجمتي لنص: peace 

للشاعرة اليونانية: إيفا بيتروبولو ليانو/EVA Petropoulou Lianou 

 سَلام  

نَدفَعُ أرواحَنَا ثَمَنًا 

لقَرَاراتٍ اِتَّخَذَها الآخَرُونَ..  

لأَنَّهُم يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى جُيُوبِهِم  

وَلا يُبَالُونَ بِأَمْنِ الكَوْنِ!  

لِمَاذَا تَنْشَبُ الحُروبُ؟  

و دائمًا، ذات الإجابة  

لَا أَحَدَ يَعلَمُ!  

تَعَلَّمْ أَنْ تَتَكَلَّمَ،  

تَعَلَّمْ أَنْ تَتَواصل،  

تَعَلَّمْ أَنْ تَتَقَبَّلَ،  

تَعَلَّمْ أَنْ تَحتَرِمَ.  

سَلام..  

كَلِمَةٌ نَادِرَةٌ فِي هَذِا الكَوْكَبْ  

مُذ أن وُجِدَ البَشَرِ  

كَانت السَّكِينَةُ امتيازًا لِقِلَّة!  

اِفهَمْ،  

اِستَمِعْ،  

اِصْمُتْ،

تلك هي سُّننٌ يُبنى بها غدٌ زاهٍ.

أَمَل..  

كَيْ لَا يَنَامَ اللَّيْلَةَ طِفْلٌ  

دُونِ وَالِدَيْهِ!  

صلُّوا،

لتحفّ ملائكةُ الرحمة

كلَّ البيوت.

©®إيفا بيتروبولو ليانو 

—  

*ترجمة أدبية تحافظ على الإيقاع الشعري وتضفي لمسةً من البلاغة العربية، مع احترام روح النص الأصلي.*

 PEACE,

We pay with our lives

Decision others took

Because they are looking at their pockets

And not at the safety of the planet

Why a war is happening?

Always the same response

Nobody knows

Learn to talk

Learn to communicate 

Learn to accept

Learn to respect

Peace,

So rare in this planet

Since the existence of the humans

Quiet was a privilege for few

Understand,

Listen

Be silent

Those are the rules for a bright future

Hope,

No children will sleep 

Without his parents tonight

Pray,

For Angel’s protection

To everyone’s house

Young woman in a light headscarf and blue top posing next to a table with knickknacks.

Poetry from Graciela Noemi Villaverde

Light skinned Latina woman with dark blonde hair, brown eyes, a black top and small silver necklace.
Graciela Noemi Villaverde

The Wandering Hat 

It was a summer night,

the stars were mirrors of a wandering soul,

my friend, a whisper of wind in the countryside,

decided that life was a vibrant song.

We boarded the train, an iron leviathan,

devouring the tracks with its fiery breath,

but in a twist in the fabric of time,

his hat, a balloon, rose into the present.

The train, a river of steel in its bed,

took its emblem, its shadow on the journey,

and he, like a navigator in search of a lasso,

ran after his star, his light, his passenger.

Laughter and wailing danced in the air,

as the train vanished into the gloom,

my friend, a poet in his own disdain,

promised he would return, and he did so in the mist.

In the end, she understood that the waves of fate

sometimes require us to let go of what overwhelms us,

like a hat that flies along a road,

laughter is a compass, and the journey, a feather.

GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE is a writer and poet from Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Rios) Argentina, based in Buenos Aires She graduated in letters and is the author of seven books of poetry, awarded several times worldwide. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Projects of the Hispanic World Union of Writers and is the UHE World Honorary President of the same institution Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. She is the Commissioner of Honor in the executive cabinet IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS DIVISION, of the UNACCC SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA CHAPTER.

Essay from Oyatillo Jabboraliev

Why Are Study Abroad Semesters Valuable for Students?

Meaning of These Programs – What Are They?

A study abroad semester is a life-changing experience – but how exactly?

Costs, Challenges, and Requirements

Nowadays, there are many foreign citizens in my country. Are they just tourists? Not quite. Today we see young people coming from abroad to various parts of our country. The reason is the global student exchange program. This program has a long history and began to develop in the 20th century. It was created to promote cultural and scientific cooperation between countries. A student exchange program allows students to temporarily study at a different university abroad. Through it, students gain knowledge and experience.

Historically, the United States was one of the first countries where such programs became popular, beginning with the Fulbright Program. One of the most well-known is the ERASMUS program – the oldest student exchange program in Europe, launched in 1987. Germany later developed its own version, with the DAAD program starting in 1925. These programs are highly popular among young people.

Experiences of Students:

Many students report positive experiences with exchange programs. Jabboraliev O., who studies at Kuala Lumpur University in Malaysia, said: “I expanded my professional experience through the exchange program. That’s why I’ve worked in many areas of my field.” This shows that exchange programs offer career benefits too.

Dilafruz, a student who studied in Japan, said: “My verbal communication improved significantly.” In particular, her ability to express herself in Japanese grew. This proves students can also benefit linguistically from exchange programs.

Advantages of Student Exchange Programs:

Exchange programs offer many benefits. Students gain new knowledge and boost their academic progress. But that’s not all. Studying abroad helps develop important personal skills, such as:

– Intercultural Competence: Students learn to understand and respect cultural differences by engaging directly with people from diverse backgrounds.

– Independence: Living in a foreign country forces students to organize daily life independently – from housing to daily routines.

– Language Skills: Constant exposure to a foreign language helps students improve their language proficiency.

– Better Career Opportunities: Employers value international experience, which signals flexibility and adaptability.

Challenges:

Of course, there are also difficulties. Many students face the following challenges when moving abroad:

– Financial Issues: Living abroad can be expensive. Students often need scholarships or part-time jobs.

– Different Education Systems: Learning methods may differ from those in the home country, requiring students to adapt.

– Cultural Differences: Adapting to new customs and traditions can be tough in a foreign country.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, student exchange programs are an excellent opportunity for young people to gain international experience, explore other cultures, and improve both academically and professionally. They help students adjust to new environments and foster mutual understanding between cultures.

During the program, students learn how to navigate life in a foreign country, speak new languages, and enhance communication skills. These experiences are valuable in today’s world and can improve future career prospects. Additionally, students form international connections that may benefit them later.

Despite the challenges, such as financial burdens, housing issues, or differences in education systems, these very obstacles help students become more independent and adaptable.

Overall, exchange programs are a key component of global education. They not only help young people expand their knowledge but also support personal growth. International exchange strengthens relationships between countries and universities. Therefore, such programs should continue to be supported so more students can benefit.

Oyatillo Jabboraliev was born in Fergana region. He is a student at Xiamen University in Malaysia.

Synchronized Chaos Second June Issue: Chaos Does Not Exclude Love

Fence covered in hundreds of brown locks as a symbol of love.
Image c/o Irene Wahl

First, a few announcements.

Konstantinos FaHs has another article published following up on his Synchronized Chaos pieces about ancient Greek myths and their continuing role in modern Hellenic culture. He’d like to share his piece in The Rhythm of Vietnam, which is a Vietnamese magazine with a mission that seems similar to our own.

Also, disabled contributor, lyric essayist, and ALS activist Katrina Byrd suffered hurricane damage to her home and seeks support to rebuild and make ends meet while she’s getting ready to move. Whatever folks can contribute will make a real difference.

Now, for our new issue: Chaos Does Not Exclude Love. The reverse of a phrase from a review of Elwin Cotman’s urban fantasy collection discussing how Cotman’s work was from a loving place yet made room for the complexity of the world. At Synchronized Chaos, we are intimately acquainted with the world’s nuance and chaos, yet we see and find room for empathy and connection.

Neven Duzevic reflects on travel memories and reconnecting with an old friend. Dr. Perwaiz Shaharyar speaks to the awesome and transformative power of romantic love. Dr. Prasanna Kumar Dalai reflects upon the intensity of romantic feelings. Duane Vorhees speaks to loneliness and heartbreak and sensuality and various forms of human-ness. Kristy Raines speaks to the beauty of love and the tragedy of heartbreak.

Small bouquet of red roses attached to a brick wall
Photo by Nguyễn Tiến Thịnh

Harper Chan reflects on his bravado and the reality of his feelings in the past year. Mickey Corrigan’s poetry shows how psychological and cultural shifts and traumas can manifest in our bodies. Abigail George speaks to how support from friends and family and a commitment to live in the present rather than reliving old traumas can help those addicted to drugs. Alan Catlin mixes cultural memories and touchstones with personal and societal losses.

Vo Thi Nhu Mai offers up a poetic tribute to the international vision of fellow poet Eva Petropoulou Lianou. Greek poet Eva Petropoulou Lianou interviews Bangladeshi poet S. Afrose on how she hopes poetry and joint exploration through literary sci-fi will obliterate the need for war. Dr. Jernail Singh laments that morality and compassion have become passe to a generation obsessed with modernity and personal success. Priyanka Neogi speaks to the beauty of carrying oneself with noble character. Maria Koulovou Roumelioti urges us to remember the world’s children and create love and peace as Anwar Rahim reminds us to live with kindness and courage.

Mykyta Ryzhykh speculates on whether love can continue to exist amidst war. Haroon Rashid pays tribute to Indian political leader Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who loved peace but led through strength. Christine Poythress reflects on how easy it is for a once-proud and free nation to slide into fascism simply by admiring the fascist aesthetic and its seductive power. Ahmed Miqdad renders a global tragedy in simple terms: he’s too scared to go back to his home in Gaza to water his cactus plant.

Lili Lang probes the meaning behind things that seem simple: the work of a hairdresser, a family packing up the belongings of a recently deceased grandmother.

Couple off in the distance walking together on sand dunes near a beach.
Photo by Negar Kh

Mahmudova Sohibaxon offers up a tribute to dependable and caring fathers. J.J. Campbell writes of the visceral love and physical work of aging and caregiving, of inhabiting an elderly and a middle-aged body. Taylor Dibbert’s poetic speaker embraces age with joy, thrilled to still be alive. Bill Tope crafts an expansive and welcoming vision of perfection that can welcome more types of people and bodies as Ambrose George urges the world to maintain an open mind towards gender roles and identities.

Leslie Lisbona pays tribute to her deceased mother by writing a letter catching her up on family news. Stephen Jarrell Williams considers endings and beginnings and the possibility of renewal. Asma’u Sulaiman speaks to being lost and then found in life. Cheng Yong’s poetry addresses ways we hide from each other and ourselves, physically and psychologically. Mahbub Alam wishes for a romantic connection that can extend and endure beyond Earth. Dibyangana’s poetry touches on love, grief, and personal metamorphosis. Mely Ratkovic writes of spiritual contemplation and the nature of good and evil. Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa describes souls who turn away from greed and evil and heal, in smaller and larger ways. Christopher Bernard suggests that creativity and storytelling might play a part in what makes life worth enduring.

Brian Barbeito speculates about intention and communication with the universe. Svetlana Rostova speculates on what spirituality might mean in the face of a seemingly indifferent world. Shamsiya Khudoynazarova Turumnova’s piece conveys spiritual ecstasy, love, and beauty.

Sandro Piedrahita’s story highlights the power of enduring and sacrificial spiritual devotion in the midst of our human-ness.

Chimezie Ihekuna engages with the talents, creativity, and limitations of being human. Dr. Jernail Anand looks at human creativity and at AI and draws a comparison, encouraging humans to continue to create. Jasmina Rashidova explores what motivates people in the workplace. Eva Petropoulou Lianou interviews Turkish poet Bahar Buke about fostering imagination and connection through her work.

Silhouette of a human hand casting a paper airplane into the sky at sunrise or sunset.
Photo by Rakicevic Nenad

Paul Durand reflects on teaching first-grade music in a time of hatred and divisiveness. Su Yun collects the thoughts and observations of a whole selection of schoolchildren in China about nature and their world.

David Sapp reflects on how he wishes to always appreciate the egrets and lilies, sailing off into nature amid the various bird voices of the wild world. Mesfakus Salahin rhapsodizes about flowers and giddy spring romance. Soumen Roy celebrates the simple joy of butterflies and tea. Sayani Mukherjee speaks of an enduring oak tree in summer. Poetry from Eva Petropoulou Lianou, translated to Italian by Maria Miraglia and Arabic by Ahmed Farooq Baidoon, celebrates life lessons from nature. Liang Zhiwei reminds us of the power and vastness of nature, before and after the era of humanity. Nuraini Mohammed Usman sends up a sepia photograph of a tire hidden by a leafing young tree.

Jibril Mohammed Usman shares a photograph of a person looking into nature, at one with and part of his world, altered in the same way as the trees and house. Mark Young’s geographies play with and explore Australia from new angles, turning maps into works of art.

Jerome Berglund and Christina Chin stitch ideas and images together like clotted cream in their joint haikus. Patrick Sweeney’s two-line couplets explore a thought which ends in an unexpected way.

Graffiti on a corrugated metal wall that looks like a child is sipping from a metal pipe as if it's a straw.
Photo by Shukhrat Umarov

Odina Bahodirova argues for the relevance of philology as an academic discipline because of its role in preserving cultural wisdom encoded in language and the ability of students to understand and think critically about language. Sevinch Shukurova explores the role of code-switching as a pedagogical tool in language learning. Surayo Nosirova shares the power of an educator giving a struggling student tutoring and a second chance. Nozima Zioydilloyeva celebrates Uzbekistan’s cultural accomplishments and women’s education within her home country. Marjona Mardonova honors the history of the learned Jadid Uzbek modernizers.

Nazeem Aziz recollects Bangladeshi history and celebrates their fights for freedom and national identity. Poet Hua Ai speaks to people’s basic longings to live, to be seen and heard. Leif Ingram-Bunn speaks to hypocrisy and self-righteousness on behalf of those who would silence him, and self-assertion on his part as a wounded but brave, worthy child of God.

Z.I. Mahmud traces the mythic and the heroic from Tolkien to Harry Potter. Poet Hua Ai, interviewed by editor Cristina Deptula, also wonders about the stories we tell ourselves. She speculates through her work about what in the human condition is mandatory for survival and what is learned behavior that could be unlearned with changing times.

Synchronized Chaos contains many of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and our world. We hope you enjoy and learn from the narrative!

Poetry from Mykyta Ryzhykh

***
The cut-throat tale drowns me in blood
A sweet heart gives me a heart attack
My favorite eyes blind me
The future pushes me away
And only the snow supporting cool
Of me

***
The bombs instead of thunder crossed three times as if they had metal fingers. Angels learn to cry. The rain is learning to drip. I teach my thoughts to sleep and flow like water. I teach my saliva to flow. I’m learning to rain. I’m learning to cross my fingers every time someone dies. My dreams for a nuclear bomb to explode inside me without pain are not feasible. Instead of me, other people who want to live are dying. I am learning to live. I am learning to die. I teach life. I teach death. I teach. I’m studying. I can’t do anything. I don’t know. The angels hit the wrong buttons with their tears and it rains nuclear bombs. My heart stops and the hair on my head freezes in admiration. Groin hair no longer grows. Thoughts no longer grow. I dream that my lover fucked me so hard as if a nuclear bomb exploded in my anus. Teach me to love. I’m learning to die of love. Why am I not able to live with love? My eyes are cloudy. I teach my eyes to see. My eyes are learning to read the gazes of lovers who are no more. I count the trees that are no more. I look at the stones that used to be houses. I am learning the word no. I teach death. I study death. Angels drool and I drink this drool like nectar. The water is tainted with anger. The stone is again a ruin. The stone learns to be silent again. The stone will remain silent until the very end, but then it will be too late. I’m learning to drown myself in peace. I teach stones to be silent. I am learning to be a rock. I am learning to drown. I can heat up. I’m already at the bottom. The water screams everything in the language of dead birds. I swallow sperm in the hope that this is the filling of a bomb. I swallow pills in hope. I teach nuclear bombs to sleep.

***
The bomb didn’t kill you.
Why didn’t it?

I pretend to still love you.
Why?

Happy cards fill my mailbox again.
What’s that for?

Winter is counting down the new year again.
For whom?

***
What to feed the silence with?

My stomach rumbles without your moans
My sperm is empty without your hole
My head bursts like a watermelon
My name is ripped off my passport

[I’ve got your cocaine name scratched into my veins
Oahhh!]

A lonely room turns into a sunken boat
A cemetery crawls out from under the bed
A blanket hides the gray hair that hasn’t appeared yet

Silence is fed with old age that still not come

***
No one is born in a cemetery but I’d like to die in a maternity ward waiting for something new. No one else will be born after me. No one will see the new birth through my eyes. No one will die after I die (at least I won’t see anything else). After I die, I will stop being afraid of death. I will also stop being afraid of life, because life is a slow death. My gills will grow back in the morgue. I’ll turn into a fish and breathe glass emptiness. I’ll be cut into pieces. But who will eat me? Silence. No one asks the fish anything. Night. The fish won’t tell anyone anything. The cast iron board will slowly cover eyes. The fish will float downstream. We are all drowned. We’re all lil’ drowners who’ve overcome the fear of swimming outside the mother’s belly. The cosmos outside the mother’s belly is silent. Space is also a liquid. Space is also a fish. Everything flows. We all flow out. We will never meet each other again. We’ll never find self again. We’ll never press your random button, God. A bird with a beak overflowing with fluid sings softly. Death gives birth to a nothingness. A tree gives birth to a flower.